MOTAT

[Richard Wesley]

I visited Motat today for the first time in a year and caught up on things a bit, thought I would post a few photos and updates:



The main hangar extension is well underway with foundations in place and main lamented wooden beams being laid out and assembled.



The new hangar extension will massively increase the display area and have all the aircraft undercover for the first time, as this little model shows.



As already mentioned earlier in this post the Hurricane is back to gate guard duty and is looking very shiny with its new paint.



The Solent will not be completely repainted now as it seems the outside rain is taking off the yellowed vanish coat and so only lower surfaces will be repainted as needed.



Paint stripping and major repairs to the underside of the Solent are well underway as there are suggestions to display the flying boat in a cradle without its beaching gear which is why this work is being undertaken at this stage.



This ones for Dave, only a few more inches and the port wing will be back on the Hudson. Starboard to follow. The undercarriage is already completed and reinstalled.



The Avenger engine is off to Tauranga for the crew there is undertake a restoration. The current plan if possible is to have the hydraulics of the Avenger live to actuate wings and bomb doors while it is on display.



Work continues on the Mosquito interior fit out including instruments, duel controls and ammunition boxes.



The Sunderland is ticking along nicely with the cockpit looking great, fully restored operational bomb racks being reinstalled on the wings, and work on hull being undertaken alongside that of the Solent.



The Harvard wings are off again so as to complete some of the restoration work that was put on hold during the move of the Belfast hangar workshop.



The new kid on the block for me at Motat is the 747-200 flight simulator from Air New Zealand. Not pretty from the outside but great inside, can't wait to have it plugged it and humming away with all the instruments glowing.



Motat is always looking for for volunteers so if you are interested in lending a hand Wednesday and Sunday are the best days to head along for chat with like minded people.



The final gossip seemed to involve the future addition of a Devon, Iroquois and Sioux to the collection, the later two flying onto the site for final display?

[flyjoe180]

Great update, thanks for the photos. I love that Hurricane gate guardian, it's looking much healthier now.

[corsair67]

MoTaT has done wonders in the past few years, and it is great to see that the new hangar extentions are progressing well.

Now all they need is a Corsair........

[John L]

Jun 3, 2010 14:10:26 GMT 12 corsair67 said:

Now all they need is a Corsair........

I thought they had.................

[corsair67]

I thought they had.................

Until someone 'found' it!

[obiwan27]

Thanks for the update, MOTAT looks like it is coming along in leaps and bounds, well done to all concerned.

[stu]

A few random shots from a visit today with young Mr. Homewood.... have to make another trip when there's more going on.

Can't wait to see the finished display



















A few more to sort out when I get a chance.

Cheers,
Stu.

[lumpy]

" Young Mr. Homewood "? ? ;D

[stu]

Jun 4, 2010 23:34:37 GMT 12 lumpy said:

" Young Mr. Homewood "? ? ;D

Comparatively ;D

[baz62]

Great photos thanks for sharing them.
Are those "OK-1" codes on the Hurricane accurate as they seem awfully thick looking.

[stuart]

As I am overseas and cannot visit often, What is happening to the Lodestar, as it has special memories for me

[Richard Wesley]

As I understand it, once the main large hangar extension is completed at the beginning of next year, just about all the aircraft should be ready for display inside. The two main exceptions which will continue long term extensive restoration in the Belfast hangar workshop will be the Avenger and the Lodestar. The wing support frame that has been constructed for refitting the Hudson wings will be used to remove the Lodestar wings for repair and restoration. The undercarriage and engines will need to be removed for complete overhaul and all the experience and jacks are at hand after the work on the Hudson.

The effects of residual topdressing material inside the airframe, combined with decades exposed to the weather, has certainly hit the old girl hard, but she is complete at least, the engines were run by the late Barry Easy in the 1970's. There will be plenty of room, materials and time to do a really good job I would imagine.

[Dave Homewood]

Yes, I was there on Friday morning with Stu for a look around. I'll post some photos soonish when I get time to go through them. The new hangar structure is impressive, and it is really amazing to see the Solent outdoors again. It looks much bigger outdoors than in the hangar I reckon.

I have to say I am amazed to read what you say Richard that the rain has taken the yellow varnish off because it was yellow as hell when I looked at it, and it is much more noticeable out in the sunlight than it was in the dingey hangar. Maybe it was wet when you looked?

However, as I remarked to Stu, the paint itself on the Solent looks fine, it's just the varnish top coat that has spoiled the look of it. I really hope they find a way to strip the varnish off while preserving the paint beneath properly. Just leaving it to the elements to take care of as you are suggesting seems pretty bizarre.

It's good to see the Hudson is getting its wings very soon, the Belfast Hangar was of course locked up on Friday when we visited so I didn't get to view the main attraction.

In my opinion the Dakota, which was pristinely restored in 2005, needs to be stripped and repainted again before it goes inside. It's amazing how badly the paint has degraded out in the elements. Auckland weather must be murder on cars if it does that to aeroplanes.

As for the Lodestar, if they feel they can achieve a total rebuild, and do so, all power to the team there. It looks beyond redemption up close. However, only a few years back the Avenger was a corroded wreck too but it is now well on its way to recovery. It is interesting to hear that the intention is to restore the TBF's bomb doors and wings to operational, that is great. It would be neat if the bomb bay can contain a torpedo to go with its intended Fleet Air Arm colour scheme.

It is interesting in the main hangar right now where most of the aeroplanes have been reshuffled so visitors can get to see different angles on them at the moment.

On a downside, many of the glass cabinet displays in the hangar are really tired and some are downright disgraceful these days, I hope a total revamp of them comes along with the new hangar extension. One case had a load of things broken and fallen down, and was covered in wood shavings where some borer or other critter had been eating the wood! I'm sure the dedicated staff are fully aware and plan to fix these things, and I don't mean to be critical, but it doesn't look good to visitors who are paying $14 to get in, when the likes of the Auckland War Memorial Museum, and the Air Force Museum of New Zealand, etc are free museums and have much better and more modern display cases.

[stu]

A few more from the visit with Dave....















Loved the zippers on the Dragon having never noticed them before...










Fly me to the moon - well if Spitfires can do battle in outer space in Dr. Who, then what's to stop a replica Hurricane making a lunar landing?


Cheers,
Stu.

[Ykato]

Great Photo's Stu and Richard all very interesting - thanks for posting them cheers.

[Dave Homewood]

Some photos from my visit on Friday.

One of my favourite preserved aircraft in NZ, the lovely Lancaster


One of the least recognised preserved aircraft I think, the Magister (or is it a Hawk?). It is hard to see and to photograph where it sits perched on top of the Fleet Air Arm Museum corner. I wish they could put a viewing platform up there to look onto it at the same level (and onto the Lanc, etc) but then the awesome murals would be obscured.


The Turbo-Fletcher looks great these days. Does anyone have photos of this aircraft with the cowls off? It's a long engine, eh!


The Bomber Command ops board, a replica of a real one. Really neat to see I reckon.


They have some really neat artifacts on display in the Bomber Command section







Here is one for Zac, a couple of topdresser types

[Deleted]

Why thankyou Dave! And its cool to see you being positive about a Fletcher!

I always love seeing restoration projects, especially from museums. I must get up there again sometime soon for a look. If only I lived closer...

[Dave Homewood]

I don't think I've ever been anything other than positive about Fletchers (... apart form saying they're noisy, ugly and boring...) ;D

You know I only say that to amuse you though, eh. I think they're actually pretty cool to watch in action, and I really would have liked to see this first turbo version in flight. Did anyone film it or the other one when they got them flying?

[vs]

Air New Zealands Boeing 747 200 simulator is also going to be pulled out of storage. Ex Air New Zealand Cheif Technical Captain and Chief Flight Engineer are involved in the project....Both have considerable flight time in Boeing 747 200

[Dave Homewood]

Here are a few more from my visit...

Richard, do you know if there are plans to fit a wingtip to this aircraft and finish the markings during the big change around?


Another one for the topdresser fans


The late Arthur Baker's Miles Gemini


Cliff Tait's global Airtourer looking pretty smart these days